1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a sheathing system for a medical stethoscope and, more particularly, to a disposable sheath for the head and a portion of the tubing of a stethoscope and a retaining ring to secure the sheath to the stethoscope in order to maintain hygienic conditions and to prevent both the contamination of the patient's skin by the stethoscope and the contamination of the stethoscope by the patient's skin.
2. Statement of the Art
The stethoscope is a clinical, diagnostic instrument for performing mediate auscultation. The stethoscope is used during examination of patients in a doctor's office, in hospital clinics, emergency rooms or while conducting hospital rounds. By means of this instrument the respiratory, cardiac, plural, arterial and other sounds are conveyed to the ear of the user by applying the head of the stethoscope to the patient's chest, abdomen, and other areas. These areas may be secreting bodily fluids contaminated with infectious agents, including viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) resulting in the contamination of the stethoscope head and portion of the tubing in contact with the skin. Obviously, the stethoscope will contaminate the next patient's skin unless the stethoscope is sterilized between each examination.
In practice, however, medical personnel do not sterilize the stethoscope between examinations of different patients, especially during hospital rounds or busy situations. Physicians and nurses generally use their own stethoscopes without specific preventative measures. For example, it is common, after examining a patient, merely to wipe the stethoscope with a paper towel alone or with alcohol. Even if sterilization is practiced, it is very hard to clean crevices and surfaces of the stethoscope with alcohol or other conventional liquid disinfectants.
The prior art teaches the use of sheaths for covering stethoscopes to prevent cross-contamination. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,659 discloses a stethoscope protection device for protecting the stethoscope from contamination during a stethoscopic examination. It teaches the use of a decreased or stepped-down portions in the interior of the sleeve to receive the head of the stethoscope and thereby secure the sleeve on the stethoscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,898 is directed to a stethoscope isolation system for preventing nosocomial infection. The system includes a stethoscope sleeve having an adhesive strip on one side. The sleeve is adapted to envelop the entire tube and the adhesive strip is used to secure the sleeve around the tube separation area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,162 discloses a cover for a stethoscope to cover the portion of tubing that will contact the carrier's neck as carried about the neck. The sleeve is retained on the stethoscope through drawstrings to allow a knot to gather the material at each end of the sound tube. Alternatively, this patent discloses the use of hook and loop material on the inside of the sleeve to fasten the sleeve between the diverging ear tubes.
The prior art contemplates sheathing the stethoscope for prevention of transmission of invective infective disease via contact with the head. However, a need exists for a system of sheathing the stethoscope that incorporates a retaining system that easily, economically and releasably retains the sheath on the stethoscope, without the need to specially fabricate standard sheaths for this purpose.